Sebastian Vettel says he had no choice other than to make a second pit stop during the Spanish Grand Prix.
His two-stop strategy dropped him behind Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, who only pitted once. According to Vettel is was the only option open to the team at the time.
“We couldn’t make the tyres last so for us it was clear we come in again,” he said. “I think it was the right thing to do.“Obviously if you look from the outside it’s easy. But inside the car we were going through the tyres too quick and therefore we were not able to stay out for another 23 laps.
“Even in the end with the fresher set I wasn’t able to attack until the end.”
However Vettel’s team mate Kimi Raikkonen said he was planning to only make one pit stop during the race before he retired.
Vettel said the team’s problems with its tyres was one of three reasons why it was not as competitive in Spain as it has been previously.
“One, we were not quick enough. If we are not able to see that then we are more than blind because we didn’t have the pace in the first stint,” he said.
“Second, I think we struggled a little bit over the course of the weekend with the tyres. they changed but they changed for everyone. So our ambition has to be that we’re better off rather than worse off. That’s the second thing we need to focus on.
“Third it was a poor weekend in terms of reliability. Obviously Kimi had an issue with the engine yesterday, had to engine the engine today and obviously retired in the race, I don’t know what happened. So I think overall there are three things that we must be able to see. If we don’t see those, there are no excuses.”
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Yoseph
13th May 2018, 18:05
Vettel’s honest assessment is a breath of fresh air, well done, instead of giving some cheap excuses.
Darko
13th May 2018, 18:12
..I just can’t even. Still doesn’t make any sense. How come everyone last on one set of softs and Ferrari can’t on mediums?!?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th May 2018, 18:20
Mmm, it does seem like the Ferrari’s ability to turn on the tyres took a huge step backwards at this track. They didn’t even seem this bad with the tyres in pre-season testing (a period where Mercedes invested a lot of time on the mediums, if I recall). Either the weather or the tyre construction change has combined with their car setup to result in this poor showing.
toiago (@toiago)
13th May 2018, 18:43
It is easy to put the blame on the different tyres for this weekend, and it almost certainly played a part in this abysmal race, but indeed the cooler temperatures have always favoured the Mercedes’ cars, as too have the harder compounds (mediums, and to some extent the softs). Hopefully it was some sort of perfect storm and it won’t repeat itself too many times this year, a bit like Hamilton in Sochi last year.
Patrickl (@patrickl)
13th May 2018, 19:49
Vettel has always been poor at managing his tyres. When he attempts to go longer than average on a set, he tends to run them to destruction.
Of course every time blaming Pirelli for his tyre exploding instead of understanding you need to drive more careful if you attempt to make the tyres last longer.
At least he finally seems to realize this weakness and decided to not make the same mistake again. Maybe he saw the movie Cars where Lightning McQueen suffers the same fate.
Patrick (@paeschli)
13th May 2018, 20:07
There’s no excuse for making tures that explode @patrickl
A tyre at the end of its life should slow down massively, not explode
Patrickl (@patrickl)
13th May 2018, 21:22
@paeschli There is no excuse for running the tyres till they explode.
Trouble is, Vettel doesn’t just run them too hard, he bangs them on the kerbs like a madman too.
BTW It seems you should watch Cars too.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
13th May 2018, 22:27
@patrickl
Where were you after Bahrain? Hiding under a rock?
Ferrari was just poor on these special tyres this weekend that were custom made to help Mercedes and Hamilton. Normal service will be resumed in Monaco.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
14th May 2018, 0:48
….agreed
…not so much
I rather hope so but who knows
Makana (@makana)
13th May 2018, 18:55
This is dire.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
13th May 2018, 19:45
Essentially they sucked big time.
Hamilton rode off in to the sunset. That being Said Ferrari was very decent Yesterday. But somehow it feels to me they messed it up and gave away atleast 1 place.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
13th May 2018, 21:18
Definitely a mistake imo, I don’t really see bottas overtaking vettel if not for that pit stop, nor do I see verstappen catching up a 10 sec advantage and overtaking him.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
13th May 2018, 21:18
And before someone says, easy with hindsight, I was perplexed immediately, as soon as he entered the pits and put mediums again.
MrKii
13th May 2018, 21:43
They were sandbagging, even in the race… some will say.
Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
13th May 2018, 22:18
almost everyone made a one-stop work. For his troubles, either Vettel himself or the car is to blame, and not Pirelli